"NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVEN TODAY, BUT YESTERDAY "

This is our constant rallying cry as we strive to provide Christian hope and help to the jail populations at Medina County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center.  When a new brother or sister in Christ who is without a home, or clothing, or food, or a safe house to return to, or a sober friend to live with is about to leave our jail, we think of the words of the Apostle James.  "If one of you says to him, "Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?"  And indeed, what good is it?  As we send hopeful men and women out the door of our jail, to the hopelessness of their lives, something has to give.......and it frequently does.

The story of one woman made this clear. Mary, (about 40), who had accepted Christ as her Savior, was troubled by dreams that her 3 children were gathered around her as she lay on the floor unconscious, with a heroin needle sticking out of her arm.   Susan told her to take it seriously since she had been a heroin addict for some years.  She warned that at the least, these dreams indicated that subconsciously Mary was considering using again. Mary wondered if God was trying to show her what would happen if she "used" again and that certainly was a possibility.   Either way, it was something to be concerned and vigilant about.

Mary was released from jail on a Monday, spent time with her family on Tuesday, evidently left her home for unkown reasons on Wednesday, and ended up at a Medina area motel  on Thursday where she overdosed on heroin.  She was found on Friday, comatose and bloated almost beyond recognition due to kidney failure.  Her children did gather round her bedside at Medina General Hospital where she died before 3PM of that Saturday.  Tragically, she never asked for help. 

Another lady who had spent some five months at the jail  had no home to go to because her family didn't trust her to stay straight and sober.  As a last resort, she moved in with another former inmate, also a drug addict.  She did extremely well for four months (attending church and working) and then, together, these two women got "bored" and started going to bars.  Within a week, Janet had vanished back into the crack houses of Akron.  We only saw her one more time and her spirit was totally broken.  You see, these women had no accountability and no structure to help them adjust to sober living. 

We can't live with these scenarios.  And they are repeated far too often.

Medina Light Ministries will address several needs of  the distressed and hurting inmates in our county. Listed below are goals we hope to achieve as God provides the resources, volunteers and leaders necessary:

We are so aware that the need for these was...yesterday.

1)  To continue with renewed commitment and creativity to present the Gospel to the men and women of Medina County Jail and to disciple them to the best of our ability (as well as oversee the invaluable work of our volunteers.)

2)  To establish a Christ-centered transitional home for women in which they can live and work, save money, find adequate work and  housing in a safe environment, find a church in which to worship and grow, and continue to work through their addiction and abuse issues. 

*** DREAM FULFILLED!  Margaret House opened in Fall 2003.  Click here to learn more about this, the first Medina Light home.

3) To establish a similar Christ-centered transitional home for men.

*** IN PROGRESS. As of 2008, we have received partial funding for this project and are beginning to evaluate possible sites and operating strategies. Please pray for us!

4) To start a "boot camp" for at risk juveniles whose parents would be in agreement with the Christian principles we would teach. 

We believe that good intentions and church services are not going to be sufficient to meet these needs...a long-term investment of time and resources will be necessary to disciple these people in the faith and prepare them for a new life.

If you would like to be kept up-to-date on the progress of our ministry, head back to our home page and sign up to receive our bi-monthly storyletter.